News of great relief has come to the fore for crores of electricity consumers of Uttar Pradesh. There was anger against smart prepaid meters in the state for the last several days. People were protesting at various places. After this protest, the state government has now decided to end the smart prepaid electricity meter system. Now the postpaid system will be implemented in the state again like before, in which electricity bills will be issued to consumers every month. After public protest, this is being seen as a U-turn by the government.
There were continuous protests and complaints across the state regarding smart prepaid meters. People alleged that there were many flaws in this system. Many people whose bills used to be less earlier suddenly saw their bills reach Rs 3-4 thousand. Apart from this, even after recharging, the power supply did not turn on and the balance was shown in negative. Amidst the scorching heat, electricity was being cut off from people’s homes due to which people were angry.
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What did the minister tell?
Giving information about this decision, Uttar Pradesh Energy Minister AK Sharma said that keeping in mind the complaints and inconveniences of the consumers, the government has taken this big step. He said, ‘Now the system of prepaid meters has been completely abolished and the old system will be implemented again.’
No need to remove smart meter
The minister said that the smart meter of all consumers will work like a normal or post-paid meter. This means that the system of pre-paid meters has now ended in UP. The way consumers used to pay bills earlier, the same system will be implemented again. The bill for the period from 1st to 30th of the month will be sent to your phone the next day and after that you will have to pay that bill.
Now power will not be cut
Along with this, the Energy Minister directed the officials that under no circumstances the electricity will be cut within the month. Along with this, the facility of ten installments has been given to the consumers to pay the previous dues. That means, if you have any previous dues, you can pay it in ten installments. Along with this, the work of converting old meters into smart and prepaid meters has also been banned.
Old meters will also work
Along with this, the Energy Minister informed that old meters will also work. This means that now people do not need to install new meters. Those who have prepaid meters installed in their houses will be given post paid. The Energy Minister has appealed to the people to update their mobile numbers along with their meters and carefully look at the messages sent by the electricity department.
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Understand the smart meter controversy
After the implementation of smart prepaid meters, many problems came to light in the state. According to reports, meters were installed in the homes of lakhs of consumers without their consent and the power supply was stopped as soon as the balance was exhausted. In some cases, due to technical glitches, electricity was cut off even to consumers whose balance was positive. Due to this, anger increased among the people and protests took place at many places. People were not allowing the employees coming to install the smart meters to enter the village. Additionally, a large number of consumers also complained that the prepaid system required frequent recharges and sudden power cuts.
After the protests, the government first gave relief by implementing rules like keeping the electricity on for some time even if the balance is exhausted, but despite this the problem did not end completely. After this, the government has now taken a complete U-turn on its decision. Crores of electricity consumers of the state will directly benefit from this decision. Now they will not have to worry about recharging again and again and will get relief from the problem of sudden power cuts.
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